is local worth it ?

I might as well add my .02 cents, everybody on this thread is comparing local driving to OTR, how's this one, i started with a company in April of this year and ended up being a second shift spotter driving a Ottowa at a manufacturing company i put on a wooping 12-15 miles a night, when i have to get fuel which is about every other day i get to jump on the Big Road for 6 miles one way and then put on a wooping 29 miles for the night. work 9-9.5 hours a night and get o/t after 40. one of the problems with this job is i've been laid off to many times as far as i'm concerned. My last road job was pulling a reefer out west that ended in 1998 and made some good money doing it as i got paid for everything that i did,the company was sold and changed after i left, have been off the road since then. had 11 yrs as a local, regional driver but was home every night until the contract ended, To make a long story short, when checking out OTR jobs and called, they would not look at me because i've been off the road for so long and like other drivers on this thread have said, they do not look at local driving as experience, if local driving is not experience what the hell would a yard spotter be? to be honest i feel that i have a decent job but would feel more comfortable getting back into the food or durable goods driving job because of the layoffs i've been thru. my .02 cents worth...............

 

Trust me, every OTR outfit that thinks you dont have experience and wont hire you is doing you a rather large favor!

 

Sometimes it "good" to not be "good" enough!

 

Yard hostlers are prolly the most bad-### backers around. The accuracy and skill they have is insane. I wish they made me a hostler before I started doing linehauls. I'd prolly get my sets hooked faster. But yeah, OTR carriers that don't accept you are doing you a huge favour.

 

The thing about yard goats is they are designed specifically for a purpose and after you've backed in a 100 or so trailers it's all second nature.

 

It is all about money. There is no way that local driving equals no driving experience. They do it because they make money training.

 

Not to mention a brand new rookie with a shiny CDL........man they just see dollars!

 

Why would you want to go otr instead of local any ways, I maid $59,000 last year never went more than 30 miles from are yard and home every night. Who in there right mind would want to live out of there truck at a truck stop.

 

I do I do. Trucks rock and so do truck stops.